speculation
noun
spec·u·la·tion
ˌspe-kyə-ˈlā-shən 
: an act or instance of speculating: such as
a
: assumption of unusual business risk in hopes of obtaining commensurate gain
b
: a transaction involving such speculation
Synonyms
Examples of speculation in a Sentence
He dismissed their theories as mere speculation.
The book is just a lot of idle speculation about the future.
Her speculations leave many questions unanswered.
He lost everything in foolish land speculation.
Recent Examples on the Web
After the Chicago Bears fulfill my promise, the draft will actually begin with the No. 2 overall pick, where rampant speculation has cycled through North Carolina’s Drake Maye, LSU’s Jayden Daniels and Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy for which QB the Washington Commanders covet.
—
Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Apr. 2024
Then, nearly seven weeks later — with the community on edge and speculation swirling about who could commit such violence — police announced an arrest in Pennsylvania of a doctoral student in criminal justice.
—Erik Ortiz, NBC News, 24 Apr. 2024
Despite the rampant outside speculation, the Chargers could always stay at No. 5, something Hortiz suggested would happen if another team is unable to match his asking price.
—Jeff Miller, Los Angeles Times, 24 Apr. 2024
For city residents, the speculation only adds to the anxiety of living under daily bombardment.
—Marc Santora Tyler Hicks, New York Times, 24 Apr. 2024
Lately there’s been a lot of speculation that the creators of the largest, most powerful LLMs, such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind, are running out of data to train models.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2024
Race officials are investigating a half-marathon in Beijing after videos online have led to overwhelming speculation that three African runners appeared to slow down in order to allow China's top long-distance runner, He Jie, to finish ahead of them.
—Paulina Dedaj, Fox News, 16 Apr. 2024
Whitmer's Book:Gov. Whitmer to publish new book, 'True Gretch,' prompting speculation
The Super Deluxe, LLC was created last November, according to the state's filings for corporations.
—Detroit Free Press, 16 Apr. 2024
Those previous two days had been defined by dizzying speculation surrounding the standout defensive tackle’s future at the school.
—Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Apr. 2024
Then, nearly seven weeks later — with the community on edge and speculation swirling about who could commit such violence — police announced an arrest in Pennsylvania of a doctoral student in criminal justice.
—Erik Ortiz, NBC News, 24 Apr. 2024
Despite the rampant outside speculation, the Chargers could always stay at No. 5, something Hortiz suggested would happen if another team is unable to match his asking price.
—Jeff Miller, Los Angeles Times, 24 Apr. 2024
For city residents, the speculation only adds to the anxiety of living under daily bombardment.
—Marc Santora Tyler Hicks, New York Times, 24 Apr. 2024
Lately there’s been a lot of speculation that the creators of the largest, most powerful LLMs, such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind, are running out of data to train models.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2024
Race officials are investigating a half-marathon in Beijing after videos online have led to overwhelming speculation that three African runners appeared to slow down in order to allow China's top long-distance runner, He Jie, to finish ahead of them.
—Paulina Dedaj, Fox News, 16 Apr. 2024
Whitmer's Book:Gov. Whitmer to publish new book, 'True Gretch,' prompting speculation
The Super Deluxe, LLC was created last November, according to the state's filings for corporations.
—Detroit Free Press, 16 Apr. 2024
Those previous two days had been defined by dizzying speculation surrounding the standout defensive tackle’s future at the school.
—Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'speculation.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near speculation
Cite this Entry
“Speculation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/speculation. Accessed 28 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
speculation
noun
spec·u·la·tion
ˌspek-yə-ˈlā-shən
1
: thoughts or guesses about something
much speculation about who the new teacher would be
2
: the taking of a big risk in business in hopes of making a big profit
Legal Definition
speculation
noun
spec·u·la·tion
ˌspe-kyə-ˈlā-shən
: an act or instance of speculating: as
a
: assumption of unusual business risk in hopes of obtaining commensurate gain
b
: a transaction involving such speculation
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